Every day, there is more than one amputation (590/year) in British Columbia as a result of a diabetic foot ulcer.

In 2016, 463,000 people in British Columbia are living with diabetes, and another 755,000 people have prediabetes. The increasing rate of diabetes and its complications pose a serious burden on the province’s publicly funded health-care system and our economy.

Among these complications are diabetic foot ulcers, which currently impose direct health-care costs of $98-120 million and indirect costs of $11-18 million in British Columbia.

The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) estimates that funding such devices could save the Government of British Columbia between $14-23 million a year, compared to when the public has no access to these devices.

The CDA recommends that the Government of British Columbia increase funding for these devices that include total contact casts, custom braces and orthoses.

Download the British Columbia report

Issues with your feet can happen quickly

Since Victoria resident, Dr. Iain Forbes, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a medical student in 1967, he has lived a full life: a career as a family physician, marriage, raising three children, becoming a grandparent and travelling extensively. However, a few years ago, on a holiday in Vietnam, he tripped on a sidewalk and injured his foot. Three weeks later, he noticed a single black spot at the end of the big toe. Over the next months he had several toes removed, and eventually had to have the whole leg amputated.

“Issues with your feet can happen so fast that it’s important to act quickly. Time is of the essence.”
- Dr. Iain Forbes, Victoria, British Columbia